Thursday, January 15 - We took a beautiful ride this morning up Mount Lemmon, an elevation of 9159 feet. It is the highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains. It is located in the Coronado National Forest, north of Tucson, Arizona.
The drive up the mountain is over 25 miles, and of course it is pretty slow going. But we weren't the slowest guys on the road. The highway was loaded with bike riders. Now that would be a workout! It was a little threatening watching them fly down the mountain. They flew right by us, and we were driving the truck.
There are many safe places to pull off and enjoy the view or take pictures.
There’s the road we traveled from the campground.
There are several trail-heads at many of these pull-outs where you can park and enjoy a hike in the mountains. We considered this but it was very windy today, so we'll think about it another day. There is a campground about half way up the mountain with a 25' suggested limit on trailer length, and it is dry camping. There was a camp host there to collect the fees and keep the peace. Now that would be a secluded work-camping position!
There are many interesting rock formations and noticeable changes in temperature and geography as we drove higher.
We didn’t drive the entire highway to the top. At 5,000 ft., we decided to turn around and head back. The wind was blowing at about 30-35 mph, and it was only 42 degrees. It was a lovely drive, and we would like to drive the entire way on a little better weather day.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!
What a great place to see sunshine and blue sky. The land forms and geology are quite unique. Always love to see those cactus and other desert plants. You were quite lucky to get a photo of those two animals in that last picture. Very rarely seen in that area. Good going, Marsha.
ReplyDeleteWe did the Sabino Canyon tour too. I hope you can do that one day.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sabinocanyon.com/trail_sc.php
Isn't that the neatest road! Can you believe those crazy bikers!!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you didn't get to the top. We did this trip two years ago and it was so cool to see the snow and watch the skiers and then go back down to the heat. Do you know if there was enough snow for skiing yet?
I love your header...love those cactus!! Great breezy photo of you two!!
That was a nice drive glad you took us along, I have a problem driving those kind of roads so will not be doing it.
ReplyDeleteYou find all the naturally beautiful and interesting places to see.
ReplyDeleteIt would take us years to just see one area after following every one else's blogs.
Be Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
Terry has often talked about Mt. Lemmon. He went to high school in Tucson. However, not so sure I could do that drive. The road sure looks straight up. I'm amazed at all the bikers we see on mountain roads.
ReplyDeleteBeen living in Arizona over 20 years and still haven't taken the drive.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful drive but I don't think I could ever do it on a bike!! My hats off to those who can :-)
ReplyDeleteWe may be going back to Tuscon in late February. We will keep this in mind.
ReplyDeletewow. . .really spectacular.
ReplyDeleteSeems there will be plenty to do when we finally arrive in Tucson. . .really appreciate you guys paving the way. . .and mapping it all out for us! Thanks. . .
A nice drive, thanks for sharing
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